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Monday, February 20, 2012

What's Your Favorite Episode of The Simpsons?

It's lazy day here at GoL (well, lazier than usual): first, I wanted to do some kind of Presidents Day post, but couldn't come up with a good hook. So instead, I'll direct you this older Presidents Day post I did back in 2009 in which I compared America's Founding Fathers to the Avengers.

Second, last night marked the airing of the 500th episode of The Simpsons, a remarkable achievement for any TV show, especially in this day and age (I'll share my thoughts on the episode itself in Friday's "Last Week in TV" post).

As someone who both loves The Simpsons and writes about it frequently, I feel like I should have done something significant to mark the occasion (perhaps even my long-gestating "favorite episodes" post). But, frankly, the whole thing kind of snuck up on me. So the favorite episodes post will have to wait for another milestone (perhaps even the end of the show; you have no idea how daunting that post is), but in the meantime, to half-assedly mark the occasion, as I'm sure Homer would appreciate, I turn it over to you, the readers: what's your favorite episode (or episodes) of The Simpsons?

16 comments:

The two that immediately come to mind are the softball episode and Homer's Enemy with Frank Grimes. I suppose I could make it three and say the Hank Scorpio one as well. Probably others that I am neglecting but that should do for starters.

Oh I suppose in a somewhat separate category my favorite treehouse episode is the one with the Shinning, Time Toaster and whatever the third one was.

@Phantomas: The two that immediately come to mind are the softball episode and Homer's Enemy with Frank Grimes.

The softball episode is definitely a favorite of mine.

I see "Homer's Enemy" make a lot of best of lists, which is kinda surprising, since you can almost point to it as the genesis of the Jerk-ass Homer everyone hates so much. That said, I do happen to really enjoy that one too.

Oh I suppose in a somewhat separate category my favorite treehouse episode is the one with the Shinning, Time Toaster and whatever the third one was.

"Nightmare Cafeteria", I believe it was called. The school starts killing kids and turning them into food.

"The Shinning" is definitely my all time favorite Treehouse segment, but my favorite Treehouse episode from start to finish is the third one, with the killer Talking Krusty Doll, Homer as King Kong, and the zombies.

Oh, and the Hank Scorpio episode is awesome as well. I'm really glad they've never brought back Scorpio, as it helped prevent the character from being watered down, even though it would have been kind of cool to see him as the villain of the movie (which was the plan at one point, but I don't think they were able to get Brooks back for it).

@anonymous: That couldn't be the reason for no Scorpio in the movie, because Albert Brooks was in the movie, voicing the bad guy, Cargill.

Duh. I knew that, I swear. :)

Must have been some story reason for not using Scorpio then.

@Dr. Bitz: It has to be Lisa the Vegetarian. I feel silly saying that because it just sounds like I'm being biased.

It's definitely in the conversation as my favorite episode too. Wall-to-wall laughs, a nice bit of heart, and, like you said, the funniest Troy McClure film of all time.

@Jeff: Homer the Heretic is probably my favorite, but Homer at the Bat, Cape Feare and Homer Bad Man are all pretty close.

All favorites of mine as well. Cape Feare especially is very close to the top (and my favorite Sideshow Bob episode). I've never laughed harder at anything in my life than I did the first time I saw that rake bit.

"The toppings contain Potassium Benzoate.""...""That's bad."

"I wish we were going to Candy Apple Island.""What do they have there?""Apes. But they're not so big."

@Anne: i mean- hell- i can still sing some of the credits song

Ditto. That's definitely one of the best original songs (which is a whole nother category! I'd probably put it third after the Flaming Moes song and the Stonecutter's song).

"You Only Move Twice" was for me the highest point The Simpsons ever reached. Everything since has lived in its shadow. I have probably spouted off Scorpio's one-sided telephone conversation more times than anyone should ever be allowed.

"What happened? ... When did that happen? ... How much of it? ... Oh my goodness, I'll be right up!"

I've gotta agree that the best halloween episode is the king homer one because of the way all of the endings tie together with the music from love, american style. also because every time i see the part where carl says, "apes, but they're not so big" i can't even handle it.

as for which is the best episode ever, that just might be an impossible question. i'm a firm believer that the 3rd-7th seasons of the simpsons are some of the best tv ever produced. just looking at the list of episodes from those seasons, it's difficult to even pick the stand-outs because just about every one is genius.

i'll rattle off a handful and then i'll shut up: "i love lisa," where ralph gets a crush on lisa is an undeniable classic. "last exit to springfield" is another one. which one's that? just think, "dental plan, lisa needs braces..." "Krusty gets cancelled," with gabbo and like a zillion guests stars, "homer goes to college," "deep space homer," "bart gets an elephant." dang, i might just go watch one right now.

oh, also, the episode, "sideshow bob roberts" is pretty incredible because it predicts with nostadamus-level foresight the events of the 2004 presidential election.

and, yeah, i agree that the hank grimes show was the beginning of homer just being a straight-up asshole. while i can't say i dislike that episode, it was definitely the beginning of the end for me.

@Billy Superstar: also because every time i see the part where carl says, "apes, but they're not so big" i can't even handle it.

That is, hands down, one of my favorite Simpsons bits.

i'm a firm believer that the 3rd-7th seasons of the simpsons are some of the best tv ever produced. just looking at the list of episodes from those seasons, it's difficult to even pick the stand-outs because just about every one is genius.

I tend to extend the so-called "Golden Age" to season 8, and I still think seasons 9-10 have some good stuff even while they presage some of the problems to come. For me, things don't really go off the rails until season 11.

"i love lisa," where ralph gets a crush on lisa is an undeniable classic.

I do love that episode, but being the first big Ralph episode, I blame it for all the morons I've encountered through the years who know nothing about Simpsons beyond Ralph Wiggum quotes. But when I can get past that, it is a great episode. Especially the Presidents Day pageant.

"last exit to springfield" is another one.

Definitely a favorite. "How much does this job pay?/Nothing./D'oh!/Unless you're crooked./Woo-hoo!"

"Krusty gets cancelled," with gabbo and like a zillion guests stars

I'm not as big a fan of that one. I mean, all the guest stars are great and it's a solid episode, but there's plenty more episodes I'd put ahead of it on a favorites list.

"homer goes to college," "deep space homer," "bart gets an elephant."

Love 'em all. Even amongst those three, I can't decide which I like better. Probably "Homer Goes to College". But Stampy is pretty awesome...

oh, also, the episode, "sideshow bob roberts" is pretty incredible because it predicts with nostadamus-level foresight the events of the 2004 presidential election.

Another favorite. One of the best pieces of political satire any show has produced, ever. "No children have ever meddled with the Republican Party and lived to tell about it."